The Family Doctor
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3.9 • 120 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A novel of searing emotional truth, told with the relentless pull of a thriller, from the award-winning creator of Offspring.
'The Family Doctor is a compelling thriller - fast-paced, gripping and frightening. But is more than that because it is a story that draws desperately needed attention to domestic abuse in this country, to institutional indifference, to the devaluing of women's lives. The Family Doctor is a cry for change.' Sofie Laguna, Miles Franklin Award-winning author of The Eye of the Sheep and Infinite Splendours
'Brilliant. So compelling on so many levels.' Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands
'Debra Oswald is always deft at capturing the nuances of female friendship and romantic attraction, but this time she brings them to a pitch of pulse-racing intensity. Delving into the dark world of domestic violence and society's abject failure to protect those most vulnerable, she has produced a gripping thriller, brimming with heart and intellect.' Geraldine Brooks, author of The Secret Chord
Paula is a dedicated suburban GP, who is devastated by the murder of a friend and her children by their estranged husband and father. Stacey and the children had been staying with her after fleeing his control, and Paula is haunted by the thought that she couldn't protect them when they most needed it. How had she missed the warning signs? How had she failed to keep them safe?
Not long after, a patient with suspicious injuries brings her anxious young son into Paula's surgery. The woman admits that her husband hurts her, but she's terrified to leave for fear of escalating the violence, and defeated by the consistent failures of the law to help her.
Can Paula go against everything she believes to make sure one woman is saved, one child spared? She isn't motivated by revenge. She's desperately trying to prevent a tragedy . . .
A riveting, provocative novel about women's fury, traumatic grief, new love, deep friendship, and the preciousness of life, The Family Doctor asks the questions: Should you cling to faith in a flawed system, or take control the only way you can? Can a good person justify taking a life to save a life?
'Mesmerising and heart-breaking. A perfect story for this moment in time.' Sarah Bailey, author of Where the Dead Go
'The Family Doctor brings urgent news, taking the reader into suburban battlegrounds kept private by the threat and actuality of violence. In crystal-clear prose, Debra Oswald unveils an all-too-believable world of love and loyalty stretched to the limit, with agonising consequences when the best people are forced to do the worst things. When is it justified to fight fire with fire? The moment you finish this novel you will want to find someone else who has read it and talk all night about the vital questions it raises.' Malcolm Knox, author of Bluebird
Customer Reviews
Realistic and relatable
Great read, realistic story line and well developed characters!
Poignant exploration of the zeitgeist
Author
Australian. Prolific writer for film, television, stage, and radio, who has also published a number of novels for children, plus several for adults. Creator and head writer for the first five seasons of Offspring, of which I was an unashamed fan despite frequent derisive remarks of my wife. In my opinion, Offspring went downhill after Ms Oswald left, rather as The West Wing did after Aaron Sorkin departed the writer’s room.
In brief
Paula, Anita, and Stacey are three gal pals from school days now in their thirties. Paula is a Marrickville GP, childless because her hubby died young from cancer. Anita is a print journalist who specialises in court reporting. Stacey married a troubled guy, and had two kids with him before running from progressive domestic abuse, for which he was jailed. She and the kids move in with Paula. Everything is hunky-dory until DV Dad (no one told Stacey they’d let him out of jail) lobs up with a rifle while Paula is at work, and kills everyone including himself. Paula’s and Anita’s difficulty coping is not helped by daily bulletins from the courtroom where Anita is covering the trial of a guy charged with murdering his younger partner, and who eventually gets off thanks to his hot shot lawyer. Meanwhile, Anita gets it on with a copper, and Paula starts seeing victims of domestic abuse everywhere. She eventually takes the law into her own hands, twice. She gets away with it officially, although not emotionally, and goes bush where she gets into more strife. The final score is DV dudes 1, gal pals 4.
Writing
Ms O is a fine writer. This is up to her usual standard. Speaking as a bloke, albeit not a DV practitioner, I found the swathes of female angst and rumination a trifle tedious. I preferred it when they were kicking a**. Female readers may feel differently.
Bottom line
Poignant exploration of what is, sadly, the zeitgeist
So-so
Convenient characters.
Might work better as tv?
Tries hard to do something important.